By Robbie Vorhaus

THE VISION THING.  Plastic debt isn't just about money, though; it's about entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy. When you're young, as I was in the early 1990s, and absolutely convinced that you have something unique to offer, perhaps it pays to borrow on credit cards. That is because what you need at that age is blind faith.

In my case, I had a model for what I believed was a different form of public relations, one based on journalism and the elements of storytelling. And I had my tenure at CBS TV and News, both of which I assumed, naively perhaps, would enable me to easily win clients.

And I was a believer. Even in the darkest days, when I resorted to driving a cab, I refused to cut my losses and go to Hollywood, where I had been offered a job as a sitcom writer for shows like Evening Shade and Rosanne.

CREDIT-CARD SAVVY.  In short, I was learning what it meant to be an entrepreneur. It didn't mean hating one's boss, or not liking to be subject to authority, but rather high risk. Make that high risk, not of success, but of failure. If nothing else, I learned that I needed to be standing, essentially, in business, when the tide turned.

That is why I now view the assumption of credit card debt differently. I am no longer naive about building a business. I know now that it takes forging relationships that involve figuring out what I can do to meet clients' needs. No longer do I focus on the image-enhancing tactics of maintaining the appearance of being a business. Likewise, I have a different view of the financing that makes it possible.

These days, I consider plastic a tactical tool for laying the groundwork for business that I am reasonably certain I will secure. In other words, if I have a good reputation, a good management team, if my calls are getting returned, and I can see revenue five months hence, but I need that computer server today, I would be inclined to put the purchase on a credit card.

If, on the other hand, I am using the card merely to cover expenses, I don't see credit card debt as a good idea. If you're floundering and using the card, you'll find yourself floundering and in debt.

A FINAL MYTH.  Entrepreneurs get caught on a treadmill with plastic. They keep hoping to get through just another month until the business turns. This line of thinking is inextricably linked to another myth: that the debt belongs to a credit-card company, and you can just take it and not repay.

Nothing could be more wrong. When borrowing on plastic, you must always make at least the minimum payment and contact the credit card company if you cannot. That is because if you create a bad credit record for yourself, you won't ever be able to lease equipment or be granted other forms of credit.

In my case, when the spigot turned on for my business, I not only paid back the card companies in massive chunks, but also my other creditors: my wife and her family, my friends, and the bank overdrafts. As much as anything, I wanted my lenders to feel good about lending to me.

Most of all, I wanted to be set free from the terror of not being able to pay back my debt, and be able to hear those beautiful birds singing at dawn. Because, in the final analysis, I knew I would never get to the $1 million point where the debt was their problem, and that the credit-card debt I had incurred was, indeed, my problem.

Robbie Vorhaus, 50, founded Vorhaus Communications, a New York-based communications and public relations firm, in 1989, and currently serves as president and chief executive officer. A communications strategist, he appears frequently in major media, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, as a commentator on public opinion and current events. Today, his company has annual revenue of $3 million and 20 employees.

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